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Know what DWST stands for? Drunk words, sober thoughts. Probably my favorite acronym in the game. Next to
FYC, anyway.
1.) The
Toronto-LA trade interests me for a few reasons. For starters, I think it's a fair-value swap, but I'm not sure it's one I would've done this early in the off-season if I'm Dave Nonis. The assets he packaged away for Jonathan Bernier could've been sent away to address a more-pressing need -- a center and top-four defenseman immediately come to mind. Or, to broaden this a bit, just about any guy capable of driving possession. The Maple Leafs roster is one that intrigues me on raw skill, but I still think there are a number of gaps to fill, and acquiring a goaltender after this year's performance by James Reimer strikes me as odd. Guess the team isn't sold on #34.
2.) Bringing me to the second-part of this post, there's no way Toronto acquires Jonathan Bernier without making him the prohibitive favorite to take on the starter-role with the Maple Leafs, sending James Reimer down to 1B or 2 duty. I'm not Nonis, but I'd like to think that he'd pick up the phone and call two teams in particular -- the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders, both of which are in need of a young and talented goaltender. The Flyers in particular seem to me a place where the Maple Leafs can send Reimer and stockpile some of the assets lost in the deal with Los Angeles. And, if that's the plan, then you have to respect Nonis' ingenuity. What scares me is that we may be jumping the gun, and that Nonis may have made a poor deal: not in the sense of value-for-value, but in opportunity cost, or what that package could've netted for something that improves the eighty-two game team a bit more. On the Philadelphia side, Holmgren is moderately insane and probably spends twenty hours a day working CapGeek for potential trade scenarios. I'd get Reimer if I was him. As for the cost ..
3.) The
Ales Hemsky for Zack Smith rumor is an interesting one, too. Speaking of which, the explosion of trade rumors in general on Sunday was both insane and awesome. I'm sort of skeptical that the one-for-one trade is a
done deal, so to speak, but I can see where Ottawa has an interest in Ales Hemsky, and I can see where Edmonton has an interest in Zack Smith. Reading between the lines of what Craig MacTavish and Bryan Murray have talked about this off-season, I think the rumored trade is pretty reasonable. If we're talking about fair value, though, I think there's a scenario where Ottawa could incentivize the deal by adding a bit in a two-for-one swap, with Edmonton picking up a small chunk of Hemsky's price-tag for the 2013-2014 season. Remember: if any deal gets done, it's very likely contingent on Hemsky being extended. I'd like to believe that the chance at moving from Gagner/Yakupov/Petry to Spezza/Michalek/Karlsson is something that gets Hemsky to re-up in a hurry.
4.) Spent some time looking through video over the past few days, and the one random observation I had was just how impressive Marc-Andre Bergeron was at getting off his shot and retaining that same level of firepower at the age of thirty-two. He's obviously a pretty crappy player in the defensive zone but the way he torques his body to get a shot off is kind of incredible.
5.) The best -- and when I say best, I mean (a) he's good; and (b) he's a potential get -- offer sheet candidate in Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon. Sick underlying numbers. I'd assume Minnesota would match, which leads me to my next point ...
6.) Is Tom Gilbert a buyout candidate? Michael Russo
certainly hinted as much. Minnesota would love to get a bit more cap room to improve their mostly-crappy roster. Gilbert's a nice get for a team looking for a #4 defenseman. I'd hazard to guess that Ottawa would at least place a call to Gilbert's camp if he suddenly becomes available through a compliance buyout. Even if Minnesota doesn't buy him out, I'd bet Chuck Fletcher would send him away for [mostly, maybe purely] cap relief. Does Bryan Murray make a call?
7.)Worst coach in the National Hockey League is probably Mike Yeo. If I'm a Wild fan, I'm
reading this in disgust. There's a reason why this organization -- and this team -- chronically underperforms. I'm getting the red underline on 'underperforms', but I'm pretty sure it's word. If it's not, it is today. Also, that underlying argument about dumping-and-chasing being successful is completely fabricated. Not that I needed to tell you as much.
8.) Most improved blogger in the game today on HockeyBuzz is Todd Cordell. I can't think of a guy who spends more time trying to learn the game on this web site. Ain't nothing wrong with that.
9.) Yeezus was somewhat of a disappointment, after playing it back a half-dozen times. I'm not saying I can't enjoy his new wave of instrumentals. I'm saying I didn't enjoy some of the ones he pieced together for the album. Bound 2 -- cut straight from the College Dropout cloth -- was one of his best tracks of all-time, though.
10.) If you're a sports fan in general, keep an eye on this Los Angeles and Boston trade in the NBA, something I
talked briefly about a few days back. The long and short of it is the two teams are trying to piece together two smaller trades as the basis for one large trade in an effort to squeeze through a loophole in the current collective bargaining agreement. Coaches cannot be traded in the NBA, but the two sides have agreed to the compensation for the rights to [soon-to-be former] Boston head coach Doc Rivers. David Stern's kind of a legend at making the rules up on the fly and I'm intrigued as to what he'll do when the papers get pushed through the league office. If he OKs the deal, he implicitly accepts that coaches can be traded in the NBA. If he rejects the deal, he's going to have to have one hell of a legal argument, because the way the two sides have spliced up the trade, it's going to be a tough defeat.
11.) I wonder if the DWST thing will stick. I have no idea. I'm going to look back on this post and just wonder why something of such replacement-level quality made it to publication. The impetus was some four-dollar Chardonnay. Zero proof-reading. How'd I do? I don't feel guilty when I drink wine. I've basically healthy-scratched beer and liquor for the past year or two. The thought of a gut at twenty-four years is horrifying.
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